What I Learned as a Marketing Intern: Content Writing Edition

Helix House is a crazy and unique place, with some of the coolest people out there working their creative magic. As a content writing marketing intern, I worked with Casey and Cody (Helix’s super-talented writers) for the past six months and learned so much (seriously, so much) about all things marketing and writing. If you’re wondering what to expect working at a marketing agency or if you’re interested in working for Helix House, this blog is for you.

Warning: Working at Helix House involves the tradition of celebrating a monthly cat calendar, the 2 p.m. Shavasana break, and a relentless need to always be more right than your coworkers (Editor’s note: looking at you, Nathan), about any given topic. Future marketing interns, read on.

Content Marketing Intern 101: SEO Blogs and Keyword Research

Before working at Helix House, I thought a company’s blogs were just fun or informative articles that people might read if they were already on its website. I had heard the terms “keyword research” and “search engine optimization,” but I didn’t really understand what any of it meant or how it connected to blog writing. Luckily for me, Casey and Cody were more than ready to help me out. Blogs, as it turns out, are way more important than most people probably think.

SEO Blogs: How to Write Them and Why Businesses Need them

Let’s start from the beginning (I know I had to). Here are some super-important terms that encapsulate a lot of what content writers do.

Keywords: Words and phrases users are searching for in Google and other search engines. For example: “cheap tires near me” and “how to keep houseplants alive.” The better optimized your website or blog is for keywords, the higher your website/blog will rank on Google!

Keyword research: According to Ahrefs, keyword research is “Analyzing, comparing, and prioritizing the best keyword opportunities for your website.”

Search engine optimization (SEO): A process that targets unpaid traffic through keywords. The goal is to improve the quality and quantity of website traffic from search engines.

Check out more digital advertising terms here!

You Need Relevant Keywords to Rank on Google

Keyword research is crucial because you need to understand what people are actually searching for. You could have a super well-written blog about many things, but if no one is searching for what you’re writing, unfortunately, your hard work isn’t going to gain much traffic.

There are tons of sites that are great for keyword research. As a marketing intern at Helix House, I used Ahrefs to search for keywords and understand their difficulty (how hard it will be to rank high on Google using that keyword) and the potential traffic a keyword can bring in.

Now it’s time to put it all together! I’ll walk you through the process of writing an SEO blog.

Albuquerque Self Storage SEO Blog Breakdown

One of my favorite clients to blog for is Albuquerque Self Storage. Let’s take a look at this blog on garden tool storage organization. Here’s the writing process.

Step 1: Select a keyword using ahrefs. I chose “garden tool storage.”

Step 2: Create a title including the keyword, a URL, and a meta description (a 130-160 character description of your blog, including the keyword). Meta descriptions are crucial because they can draw a user to your page from the SERP.

Meta example: “The art of gardening is ruined by scattered storage. Gardeners who need a little help with their outdoor set-up— read on for our garden tool storage solutions!”

Step 3: Plan out your headings within the article. At least one should include the keyword.

Example heading: “Reinvent Old Mailboxes into Small Garden Tool Storage.”

Step 4: Start writing! For a 700-1000 word blog, include the keyword in the body copy at least twice, plus once in the blog’s first paragraph. Be careful not to overuse the keyword, as this can look like a scam to the Google algorithm.

Don’t Forget About Backlinks

See how I’ve been linking to past blogs I’ve written and other websites? This is another essential factor in SEO blog writing. Linking back to other articles and having your articles linked back to you improves your ranking and credibility in the eyes of search engines.

The Wide World of Ads

I also got to try my hand at some ad copy during my time as a marketing intern with Helix House. As I suspected, there’s more to a great ad than a snappy headline (although snappy headlines are usually a good idea).

Social ads

With social ads, you have the freedom to be completely creative. There’s no character limit, so you have to judge what length and tone of copy will resonate with your target audience the most.

For example, a mechanic probably doesn’t need two paragraphs full of witty banter. On the flip side, a fun-loving Mexican restaurant could use more extended descriptions of their delicious menu items.

Google Ads

Google ads have a set character limit that you have to follow. Although it can be challenging to fit everything you want to say into a Google ad, it makes it necessary to get right to the point, which is crucial in marketing. Click here to learn exactly why.

What Actually Happens in Marketing Meetings?

We’ve all seen the marketing meetings in the movies: stern people in black and gray suits sitting around a large table, nervous energy circulating the room while a formal presenter is droning on, or maybe you’re an avid fan of the hit show The Pitch, where ad agencies compete in cutthroat fashion.

Luckily for me, meetings at Helix House were pretty much the opposite: funny, friendly, and talented people on teal couches brainstorming ideas, building off of each other’s thoughts, and organizing all that seamlessly. Whether we were going over our clients’ landing pages, brainstorming creatively, or outlining the content creation for the month, there was always something new to be working on and learning.

The End of this Blog

It was a great six months at Helix House, to say the least. I’m super grateful for everyone, but a huge shoutout goes to Casey and Cody. I learned everything in this blog and more from them, and got a full-time job as a content writer at the conclusion of this internship.

If you’re a business looking to expand your digital horizons, give Helix House a call. If you’re a marketing student about to graduate, look Helix House up and apply. It’s a great company with even better people, and I’m happy that I got to be a part of it.

Thanks for being so cool, Helix House!

This blog was written by copywriting intern Julia Hensley.

Editor’s note: We at Helix House wish Julia all of the luck in the world. We know she will accomplish great things and we will miss her greatly!